ZEROtherm Hurricane Video Card Cooler Review
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Written To Better Inform Our Visitors Regarding These Deals: • ZEROtherm Hurricane Video Card Cooler MIR [MAIL IN REBATES] |
If you are using a new video card, or you prefer to overclock your card, chances are you are going to need to find a way to keep it cool. While most video cards come with an onboard cooling system, they are not always effective. If you have experienced trouble keeping your card cool, it may be time to consider adding an actual video card cooler.
There are a lot of these models on the market and not all work as well as they could. This is geared towards a pretty limited segment of the computer using population, but this segment demands quality and high performance. Since it can be expensive to replace a video card that has overheated, or deal with motherboard issues due to overheating, it is vital to find a card cooler that will be able to handle anything you throw at it.
Can the ZEROtherm Hurricane Video Card Cooler pass the test? Let’s find out!
Our first reaction was to the price of this unit. Priced at just under $50, it’s pretty reasonable and the manufacturer usually offers some sort of rebate, which brings it to around $40. That’s a small price to pay to avoid overheating, and if you’re dealing with an expensive video card, this is well worth the money to try and keep it cool.
We were impressed with the overall small size of the card cooler, which is vital since many of today’s cards take up so much space. The card may be small, but the fan is huge by comparison. It takes up quite a bit of real estate on the card, but does that mean that it can get the job done?
You’ll get everything you’ll need with the card cool, including cables and it does come with a nice heatsink. We were a little put off by the packaging, which showcases the fan, meaning that you do have to put it together once you take it out. For those that are not experienced in dealing with card coolers, this could be frustrating.
All things considered, the installation was very simple. Pop open the CPU, attach it to the motherboard and hook up the cables. It took only a minute or two and we were ready to close the CPU back up. However, for those that have never opened their machine and modified it, it’s probably best to let a pro handle the installation for you.
We highly recommend using the provided driver to install the card, even if your machine automatically recognizes it. This will help cut down on any future compatibility issues and ensure that everything is configured correctly. Again, this took only a matter of a few minutes and we were ready to go.
One thing that we found unique about this product is that it can be controlled manually. This means that there is no onboard thermometer, so if you are gaming for a few hours, you’re going to have to remember to turn it on. This is both good and bad. Good in the case that you are allowed to control operation, bad if you forget to turn it on. We would have liked to have seen a happy medium here, where it would go on by default if the temperature got too warm. If you’re caught up in your game, what are the chances of remembering that you need to turn the fan on?
Worse, by the time you start to notice issues with your card, it may be too overheated to fix quickly. This is a flaw that kept us from really getting behind this card. Hopefully future models will provide a hybrid of this feature to allow both the ease of controlling and a back up in case you forget to turn the fan on.
The overall life of the unit is about 40,000 hours, which was actually quite decent. The fan ranges in decibels from around 19 to 40. We found it to be a little on the loud side, but given the size of the fan, that was to be expected. When compared with the usual noise from a video card with a built in fan, it was comparable. If you hate noise you may not be very happy with the levels, but that is always a trade off when it comes to components like this.
All of the bad stuff aside, this unit gets the job done. We found the performance to be more than acceptable, and as long as you are on the ball about controlling the fan speed, you shouldn’t have any problems with overheating. It is well worth the money, especially if your video card does not have an onboard fan. It’s a small price to pay for protecting your card and your motherboard, and overall, it’s hard to beat this one given the combination of features and the low price.
The card cooler comes with a two year limited warranty on parts and labor. Given that a lot of card coolers are pretty much disposable, we were happy to see a long term warranty like this. To get it fixed, all you have to do is call the company’s toll-free number and get an RMA and you’ll be set. All things considered, given the price point of less than $50, this is impressive.
While there are a few issues that could be made better, this is still a solid video card cooler. You really can’t go wrong with the price and the warranty and the features are well worth it. The performance, which is what really matters, was superb and overall, we found that it could hold up to even extreme amounts of gaming. If you are overclocking, this is a decent solution that won’t set you back too much. While it may be overkill for the average computer user, it is certainly well suited for gamers and does the job well.
There are a lot of these models on the market and not all work as well as they could. This is geared towards a pretty limited segment of the computer using population, but this segment demands quality and high performance. Since it can be expensive to replace a video card that has overheated, or deal with motherboard issues due to overheating, it is vital to find a card cooler that will be able to handle anything you throw at it.
Can the ZEROtherm Hurricane Video Card Cooler pass the test? Let’s find out!
First Impression
Our first reaction was to the price of this unit. Priced at just under $50, it’s pretty reasonable and the manufacturer usually offers some sort of rebate, which brings it to around $40. That’s a small price to pay to avoid overheating, and if you’re dealing with an expensive video card, this is well worth the money to try and keep it cool.
We were impressed with the overall small size of the card cooler, which is vital since many of today’s cards take up so much space. The card may be small, but the fan is huge by comparison. It takes up quite a bit of real estate on the card, but does that mean that it can get the job done?
In the Box
You’ll get everything you’ll need with the card cool, including cables and it does come with a nice heatsink. We were a little put off by the packaging, which showcases the fan, meaning that you do have to put it together once you take it out. For those that are not experienced in dealing with card coolers, this could be frustrating.
Installation
All things considered, the installation was very simple. Pop open the CPU, attach it to the motherboard and hook up the cables. It took only a minute or two and we were ready to close the CPU back up. However, for those that have never opened their machine and modified it, it’s probably best to let a pro handle the installation for you.
We highly recommend using the provided driver to install the card, even if your machine automatically recognizes it. This will help cut down on any future compatibility issues and ensure that everything is configured correctly. Again, this took only a matter of a few minutes and we were ready to go.
Features
One thing that we found unique about this product is that it can be controlled manually. This means that there is no onboard thermometer, so if you are gaming for a few hours, you’re going to have to remember to turn it on. This is both good and bad. Good in the case that you are allowed to control operation, bad if you forget to turn it on. We would have liked to have seen a happy medium here, where it would go on by default if the temperature got too warm. If you’re caught up in your game, what are the chances of remembering that you need to turn the fan on?
Worse, by the time you start to notice issues with your card, it may be too overheated to fix quickly. This is a flaw that kept us from really getting behind this card. Hopefully future models will provide a hybrid of this feature to allow both the ease of controlling and a back up in case you forget to turn the fan on.
The overall life of the unit is about 40,000 hours, which was actually quite decent. The fan ranges in decibels from around 19 to 40. We found it to be a little on the loud side, but given the size of the fan, that was to be expected. When compared with the usual noise from a video card with a built in fan, it was comparable. If you hate noise you may not be very happy with the levels, but that is always a trade off when it comes to components like this.
All of the bad stuff aside, this unit gets the job done. We found the performance to be more than acceptable, and as long as you are on the ball about controlling the fan speed, you shouldn’t have any problems with overheating. It is well worth the money, especially if your video card does not have an onboard fan. It’s a small price to pay for protecting your card and your motherboard, and overall, it’s hard to beat this one given the combination of features and the low price.
Warranty
The card cooler comes with a two year limited warranty on parts and labor. Given that a lot of card coolers are pretty much disposable, we were happy to see a long term warranty like this. To get it fixed, all you have to do is call the company’s toll-free number and get an RMA and you’ll be set. All things considered, given the price point of less than $50, this is impressive.
Overall Impression
While there are a few issues that could be made better, this is still a solid video card cooler. You really can’t go wrong with the price and the warranty and the features are well worth it. The performance, which is what really matters, was superb and overall, we found that it could hold up to even extreme amounts of gaming. If you are overclocking, this is a decent solution that won’t set you back too much. While it may be overkill for the average computer user, it is certainly well suited for gamers and does the job well.
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